ADVISORY ON CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 – PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In view of the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) situation, Ministry of Health (MOH) has stepped up the risk assessment to DORSCON Orange effective 7 February 2020. In light of this, MOH advised event organisers to cancel or defer non-essential large-scale events.

In the recent weeks, the situation has become volatile and the number of cases in Singapore is on the rise again. Hindu Endowment Board (HEB), Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS), Chancery of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore and Sathya Sai International Organisation (SSIO) have issued advisory notices requesting for precautionary measures to be stepped up.

SSIO has cancelled all upcoming major National and Regional SSIO events, that includes Pre-World Conferences and Pre-World Young Adults Festivals, till 15 June 2020. It has also requested that devotees cancel/defer their travel plans to Prasanthi Nilayam, following the travel restrictions in India.

Many of our Sathya Sai Centres have suspended their regular meetings, activities and bhajans and instead are carrying out their activities through online platforms. SSIOS recognises the prudency and proactiveness of our Sathya Sai Centres in Singapore and would like to make the below additional advisory for Centres/ Groups/devotees to follow.

FOR CENTRES

Defer/cancel all Centre related events such as Meetings, Bhajans, Seva Activities and SSE program until further notice.

For Centres who wish to resume the activities, please follow the below mentioned precautionary measures:

Carry out smaller scale events, involving smaller groups of devotees.

Carry out temperature screening before the activity.

Look out for respiratory symptoms such as cough or shortness of breath in devotees. Deny entry to unwell individuals.

Remind participants not to attend the event if they are unwell, have been placed on Leave of Absence (LOA)/Stay Home Notice (SHN) or have recent travel history to mainland China, Republic of Korea, Italy, Iran, France, Germany, Spain, ASEAN Countries, Japan, Switzerland or UK in the last 14 days. This could be in the form of pre-event reminders, prominent notices at entrances of events, notices during pre- or onsite registration.

Devotees are to be seated at least a metre apart from one another.

Ensure that event venues are ventilated and are adequately equipped with facilities for hand washing.

Increase the frequency of cleaning of commonly used areas, such as washrooms, registration and payment counters, and dining areas.

Maintain a registration list of devotees who attend the events, regularly.

FOR DEVOTEES

Devotees are requested to follow the MOH, HEB and SSIO Advisories closely.

Devotees who are unwell should not attend any activities. They should avoid public spaces and contact with others, and instead seek medical attention. Any volunteer or devotee who becomes unwell during the event should leave immediately to seek appropriate medical attention.

Devotees placed on LOA/SHN should not attend events. They are strongly advised to remain at home and minimise their time spent in public spaces.

Devotees with recent travel history to mainland China, South Korea, Italy, Iran, France, Germany, Spain, ASEAN Countries, Japan, Switzerland or UK since 14 January 2020 should not attend any events.

Devotees are requested to remain vigilant and practise good personal hygiene, such as washing their hands regularly and avoid touching their face.

Avoid shaking hands with other devotees and say "Sairam", the traditional way.

SSIOS will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide updates and further advice when necessary.

For most updated information on the COVID-19 situation, please visit the Singapore Ministry of Health website at www.moh.gov.sg.

We look forward to your continued support in following the above-said measures. Let us go through this challenging period together with calmness, courage and strength and intensify our prayers for the situation to improve and to heal the patients who are ill.

Related Links

Sairam! Hari Raya Seva was undertaken by SSIOS , reaching out to 50 underprivileged families. On the 25th of May, SSIOS provided them with groceries and vouchers for the festive season. Volunteers went to the homes of these families to deliver the food items and chat with them. An additional dose of love was indeed given along with the care package.

On a bright sunny afternoon of 25 August, the SSIOS family had the blessed opportunity to host more than 50 wonderful families from underprivileged backgrounds at our National Day Family Carnival held at the Sri Ruthrakaliamman Temple.